Swarm’s new co-owner from Cowboys revealed

By Zach Davis, Laredo Morning Times

Updated 9:20 pm, Thursday, July 27, 2017

Photo: Gus Ruelas /Associated Press

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A source close to the situation told LMT on Thursday that the Cowboys player who joined the Laredo Swarm’s ownership group and saved the team’s 2017-18 season is second-year defensive end Charles Tapper. The 24 year old is a former fourth-round selection in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma. less

A source close to the situation told LMT on Thursday that the Cowboys player who joined the Laredo Swarm’s ownership group and saved the team’s 2017-18 season is second-year defensive end Charles Tapper. ... more

Photo: Gus Ruelas /Associated Press

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The Laredo Swarm will be back for the 2017-18 season after finishing ranked No. 22 last year. Point guard Anthony Alston and the Swarm were 14-6 with their only losses coming against ranked teams.

The Laredo Swarm will be back for the 2017-18 season after finishing ranked No. 22 last year. Point guard Anthony Alston and the Swarm were 14-6 with their only losses coming against ranked teams.

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times File

Swarm’s new co-owner from Cowboys revealed

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A source close to the situation has revealed that Cowboys defensive end Charles Tapper will be joining the Swarm’s ownership group for the 2017-18 season.

Tapper will team up with a group that already consists of co-owners Marlon Minifee and LeMoure Stevens. While a deal appears to be on the way, multiple sources have indicated that the team’s return is still not 100 percent complete between the Swarm, the city of Laredo and Laredo Energy Arena, although that appears to be the goal each is working toward.

Minifee, who previously handled all the day-to-day operations for the team, could not be reached for comment on Thursday night for confirmation.

The 24 year old was selected in the fourth round at pick 101 overall of the 2016 NFL Draft. He had previous back problems in training camp and missed his entire rookie season. Tapper was one of three Cowboys that participated in a Laredo youth football camp in March including free safety Kavon Frazier and fullback Keith Smith.

Tapper was All-Big 12 at Oklahoma and earned an All-American honorable mention from Sports Illustrated. He had 50 tackles and seven sacks as a senior for the Sooners.

The Swarm were looking for either a new owner or partner after Minifee took a position this offseason with the American Basketball Association in charge of international expansion. Minifee told LMT on July 16 that a player from the Cowboys had joined the ownership group and saved the 2017-18 season. Tapper is expected to bring in a staff to run the team throughout the season to ensure there is no conflict with the Cowboys.

The Swarm finished last season at 14-6 as they were the No. 22 ranked team in the ABA but missed out on a playoff berth. Despite their struggles, they were the only team to defeat No. 4 Austin (15-1) and all six of their losses were to teams that were ranked in the top 17 in the nation. During their first full campaign in 2015-16, Laredo was 18-1 in the regular season and ranked No. 1 in the ABA before suffering a first-round playoff upset.

The team is expected to focus more on obtaining talent from Laredo in the upcoming season. They are hoping to have a tryout some time in late August. Last year’s team had five players with ties to the city including Anthony Alston, Johnel Gray and Kevin Jefferson Jr. from Texas A&M International as well as John Garcia and Serge Trevino from United South and Alexander, respectively.